Species BirdsLeach's Storm-Petrel

Leach's Storm-Petrel

Hydrobates leucorhous

UncommonBird
Illustration of Leach's Storm-Petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous)

Leach's Storm-Petrel is a small, dark seabird with an erratic, buoyant flight that bounces over wave tops of the open ocean. It nests in underground burrows on remote islands and returns to the colony only at night to avoid predation by gulls. It has one of the most distinctive calls of any seabird — an eerie, gurgling chuckle audible from burrows at night.

Habitat
Open Atlantic and Pacific oceans; nests on offshore islands
Diet
Small fish, squid, and zooplankton
How common
Uncommon

Recent Leach's Storm-Petrel sightings near you

Live, research-grade observations from iNaturalist. Allow location to center the map on you.

Spot a Leach's Storm-Petrel? Identify it instantly.

Point Huck at any plant or animal and get an instant ID, rarity, and field notes — building your personal nature collection as you go.

Get Huck — free

More birds

Acorn Woodpecker
Acorn Woodpecker
Melanerpes formicivorus
American Avocet
American Avocet
Recurvirostra americana
American Bittern
American Bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus
American Black Duck
American Black Duck
Anas rubripes
American Coot
American Coot
Fulica americana
American Crow
American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
American Flamingo
American Flamingo
Phoenicopterus ruber
American Golden-Plover
American Golden-Plover
Pluvialis dominica